New York Museums and Public Spaces Reclaim Overlooked Histories in 2026

Key facts

• The Museum of the City of New York opened The Occupied City: New York and the American Revolution on May 1, 2026.
• Halumii Ktapihna, focusing on the Lenape/Lunáapeew, is scheduled to open at the Museum of the City of New York on September 25, 2026.
• The Clemente's Historias Reveladas opens October 15, 2026, with more than 50 artists and organizations participating.
• Another Wonderland at the Museum of the City of New York features the restored New Deal-era mural cycle by Abram Champanier, created between 1936 and 1938 for Gouverneur Hospital.
• The DORIS Gallery at the Municipal Archives presents records from the 1600s through the 21st century, including materials on women, enslaved people, and Native Americans.
• Six artist proposals were announced in 2026 for a permanent Billie Holiday monument in Queens, planned for the Jamaica Performing Arts Center through Percent for Art.
• The Orchard Beach Pavilion in the Bronx reopened in May 2026 after a $114 million reconstruction.
• A September 2026 federal notice documented an intended NAGPRA repatriation process involving a Native American cultural item at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with requests accepted before October 16, 2026.